14 Life Altering
by SpeedBurn
Summary: When Stella's date turns into a sexual assault, how will the rest of the team take it? (SMacked - Merrianna)
1. Dark Alleys (Prologue)

Chapter Title: Dark Alleys (Prologue)

Author: Merrianna

Story: Life Altering: 00 of ?

Series: _SpeedBurn_: 14

Characters: Stella, Mac, Aiden, Danny, Don, Sid, Sheldon, Joe Avery (Speed from _CSI: Miami_), and Jessica Angell.

Rating: M: Warning non-consensual sex and violence.

Summary: When Stella's date turns into a sexual assault, how will the rest of the team take it?

Spoiler: Yeah, season 1 of _CSI: NY_.

Category: Case, Angst and Humor; AU

Setting: AU: _SpeedBurn_: New York City: After season One finale "What You See Is What You See".

Disclaimer: _CSI: NY_ was created by Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn, and Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Alliance Atlantis Communications (2004-2007), Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Production (2004-2007), Alliance Atlantis Productions (2004-2007), CBS Paramount Network Television (2006-2009), CBS Productions (2004-2006), CBS Television Studios (2009-present), Clayton Entertainment, and Jerry Bruckheimer Television. I am in no way connected with these people, and I do not claim ownership of these characters, lands, or names. I have borrowed them to share a story, and most likely not a story any of them would have written, had they had the time or no. I am making no money from this and it is just for my entertainment and that of free entertainment to a select group. Thank you.

Distribution: Please ask first?

Note: In the _SpeedBurn_ timeline series significant changes occur in various episodes, marking differences in each series. The initial drastically changed episodes are in chronological order: "Bait" (_Without a Trace_), "Reveille" (_NCIS_), "Lost Son" (_CSI: Miami_), "Bodies in Motion" (_Crime Scene Investigation_), "Summer in the City" (_CSI: NY_), and "In Name and Blood (In Birth and Death)" (_Criminal Minds_). Many episodes after those changed are also different. This story is number 14 in the grand scheme. Thank you.

Feedback: Yes, please, especially constructive.

xxx

Stella swore in Greek as she limped her way to the nearest subway entrance. After making sure Mac was ready for his first date since Claire had died, Stella had gone off to her own date. It had been a disaster; she had hoped to have a good meal with pleasant conversation and maybe a little dancing if things went well. Instead it was an evening of leering eyes, groping hands and talk about what was wrong with society. She had cut the evening short, vowing it was the last time she went out with a lawyer. When Stella had extracted herself from the situation, she decided to take a walk, wanting to get rid of the excess hostility that circumstances had created. A block away from the restaurant, she had snapped off the heel of her right shoe on a crack in the sidewalk that she hadn't seen; the force almost made her tumble on the pavement.

So here she was, limping her way along. Stella hoped that Mac had had a better time with his date then she'd had with hers. The brunette was so distracted that she didn't realize until it was too late that she was in one of the darker sections of the street. Stella barely comprehended that she had passed three young men who had cat-called after her when she walked by.

It was the kind of mistake that she would've warned most females about their first time in any big city. A fourth male came out of nowhere hitting her over the head. She fell to the ground like a stone in a pond. She didn't feel anything as she was pulled into a dark alleyway.

Stella came to in a daze and with a heavy feeling on her limbs. Then other sensations made themselves known: a wrenching pain came from the back of her head and between her thighs. Young male voices drifted to her ears.

"Hurry up, man! I want my turn!" The eager whisper from the right seemed to echo in her head.

"She's a skinny little bitch," a rough voice rasped after the first and seemed to be coming from her left.

"Hey... What's this? Shit man; she's a cop!" A teen male's high-pitched voice came as if far away.

"Don't be such a pussy. Just means we have extra points is all." This voice was right above her and was ragged with effort.

She screamed, struggling to get away. One of the individuals covered her mouth with his hand; without thinking she bit down hard, blood oozing into her mouth. The hand was jerked out of her mouth, dripping blood on her face.

"Fuck! Hold her down!" Stella almost lost consciousness again as another fist hit her across the face; still she fought back. Her body was aching. It didn't seem to matter; Stella eventually got one arm out and scratched the man opposite, digging deep furrows into flesh.

"Ah, shit! She scratched me!" came an annoyed whine from the left.

Stella received another vicious hit to the face and all her remaining strength slipped away. She drifted on waves of pain, praying that it would be over soon and that they didn't kill her in the end. One other thought came to her right before she passed out once more, _'Mac... Connor...'_

xxx

Continued in Chapter One: The Scene


	2. The Scene

Chapter Title: The Scene

Author: Merrianna

Story: Life Altering: 01 of ?

Series: _SpeedBurn_: 14

xxx

Don Flack hadn't been the first on the scene, but when the call of '_officer down_' had gone out, he was there almost immediately. A small crowd people stood gawking.

Don grabbed the first cop at the scene. The first uniformed man he'd talked to had told him that he wouldn't want to see the crime scene. The man was pale and wouldn't look Don in the eye. "Besides, it's not a homicide," was all the older man would say.

The ambulance was there and, looking around the paramedics, he could make out the form of a woman, but what struck him was the mass of curly hair which reminded him of Stella. As they put the woman on the stretcher, Don had an instant of recognition. It '_was_' Stella; the blue-eyed man forced his way over to the medical team as they were set to put her into the emergency vehicle.

He was briefly thankful that he hadn't seen where the actual assault had happened because what he saw of his friend made him want to vomit. It was a reaction he hadn't felt since he had been a rookie. He forced the reaction away and propelled himself into the vehicle before it could take off. The medics had almost pushed him back out until he '_pulled rank_'. He promised to stay out of the way. Don did as he told them he would, not once getting in their space; he just watched. The blue-eyed man had enough wit about him to send a text message to Mac. It was one of the few people he knew that the green-eyed Greek would want to be at the hospital when she woke up.

In Don's estimation the ride to the hospital took forever. Whoever had shot her either was a lousy aim or had thought to make her slowly bleed to death. Those wounds would have been horrible as it was, but through experience the detective could tell that was the least of her injuries. There was blood everywhere: across her face, down her shoulder and arm, over her chest, and down her torso; what sickened him the most was that what clothing she had left couldn't hide the fact that she had been sexually assaulted... brutally so.

xxx

Mac supposed this was how a first date went after not being on one for so long. It felt kind of unnatural or like going on your first recon and ending up in the middle of a minefield: one misstep and the whole thing would blow up in your face.

The dark-haired man wasn't sure if he was relieved or not when his cell phone had vibrated against his leg. Shifting, he took out his cell phone and looked at the message on the screen. What he read made his heart stop for a minute before it started again, pounding hard as if he'd been chasing a suspect.

"Excuse me. I've got to go," Mac stood up; in his rush to leave, he left a very confused Rose. He had enough thought to pay for the dinner before leaving the restaurant. Outside he quickly hailed the first taxi he could. The car had barely stopped when he slid into the back seat.

"Where to, Mister?" A heavy New York accent drifted back to its new occupant.

"Roosevelt Hospital," Mac snapped out, wanting the vehicle to get moving. His text message from Don Flack had been short and to the point: 'Stella shot; on way to Roosevelt Hospital. Will meet you there.' The detective wasn't one to panic easily but even through the typed words his anxiety was evident. Mac was thankful that the young officer was already on his way to the hospital; hopefully he was with Stella.

xxx

A haggard looking brown-haired detective walked over to the two forensic investigators as they approached the yellow crime tape. "I'm, Detective Jessica Angell with the Violent Crimes Unit. The victim has already been taken to the hospital."

Danny held up the yellow tape for Aiden as they ventured onto the crime scene. "It came across as an officer down?"

"Yeah, the first beat cop on scene barely recognized the woman... as Detective Bonasera." Angell's doe-eyes nervously took in the two detectives as she hesitated over the name. She didn't stop walking, letting them either stay with her or catch up.

Aiden stopped, looking after her cousin Jessica, "Did you just say the victim was Detective Stella Bonasera?" The sultry-eyed woman waited to hear that her ears had been faulty rather than acknowledge that she had heard correctly.

Danny's face went through a myriad of different emotions before settling on pissed.

"You heard correct. Our victim is Detective Bonasera of the NYPD Crime Lab. She was discovered at Nine Forty-five by Jennifer Trenet and Miles Sumner from Old Orchard, Maine... they're here on vacation. She was taken, twenty minutes ago, to Roosevelt Hospital." The brown-eyed woman steered the conversation back onto business, trying to project professionalism so that the two others would take the case in as objectively as they possible could under the circumstances, though her heart went out to her cousin Aiden.

xxx

Aiden's face hardened as she once again moved forward. "Danny, why don't you take the alley; I'll go with Jess to interview the witnesses. Then I'll head to the hospital to process... Stella." There was no way Aiden was going to call Stella Bonasera a victim... even if that was what she was.

She couldn't say they were the best of friends, but Aiden did look up to the woman. Stella was a strong, forceful person who had held her own in a still largely male-dominated profession. She was respected and didn't back down from a fight whether with a suspect or their boss. It wasn't to say she wasn't compassionate; she had a heart that was as big as the city of New York.

Aiden's eyes briefly trailed after her blond partner; he was close to Stella. This was going to be tough on him, but she didn't want him to have to go through with processing at the hospital. She jerked her eyes away from him, not wanting to deal with the emotions that were just below the surface as she approached the couple huddled together.

xxx

Danny didn't argue with Aiden, though he wanted to know how Stella was. He knew that the best way to help her at the moment was to get something on the bastards.

Stella always treated him like a little brother, something that he missed with his own brother Louie; it had been years since they'd been on good terms. Stella was always there to lend an ear or shoulder depending on which he needed.

Taking out his flashlight he made to start processing the alleyway. As he began, he wondered if someone had notified Mac; in the relationship department, their boss and his partner were closer than any two individuals could be without being married. He was certain that Mac would want to know about this; Danny wasn't sure if he'd be able to tell him though.

xxx

Jessica and Aiden stepped up to the couple; they were visibly shaken by the experience. There were dry tear stains on the woman's face, and the dark-haired man was talking to an officer that stood with them. "...Aren't you done with us yet? Jenni's upset; I'd like to take her back to our hotel."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sumner, but we need to ask you a few more questions. This is Detective Burn of the NYPD Crime Lab." Jessica did her best to be firm but soothing to the couple.

"Could you tell us exactly what you saw?" Aiden set down her case opening it. She slid on a pair of latex gloves then reached for a batch of swabs.

"I didn't see anything really. What is she doing?" Miles demanded.

"Relax, Mr. Sumner, Detective Burn is just doing her job." It was obvious to Jessica that the man wasn't into cop shows or watching _COURTTV_.

Aiden stood up and showed the couple the swabs "I noticed that Ms. Trenet has some blood on her clothes and hands. I just need to take a sample right now, but we'll need to take the garment as evidence."

"Aah... Sure. Of course; whatever you need to help that poor woman." Jennifer stood still as Aiden took several swabs from different areas of her clothes and hands.

Jessica held back an impatient sigh, "Now did you see anything, Ms. Trenet?"

"Well I'm not sure." The blue-eyed woman bit her lower lip.

"Why don't you start with how you came to be walking down this street?" Aiden suggested, hoping to jar something from the woman and possibly from the man.

"Oh, I can do that." Jennifer brightened a little since she might be able to help in finding the people who had beaten the lady cop. "We had just had a lovely dinner, and I convinced Miles to walk some of the way back to the hotel..."

xxx

_A blonde woman had her arm looped around her equally dark-haired companion. They'd had a fabulous meal; they decided to take a walk around New York at night. It wasn't long before they found themselves seriously lost. At seeing signs for a subway, they decided to take a subway train back to the location of their hotel. They were excited, having heard that subways had a way of stimulating sexual tension._

_As they walked, they thought they heard shots, close but not so as to ruin their evening. When they turned a corner they were pushed aside by four young individuals._

_They almost decided to turn back and get a cab, but the subway entrance was only a little ways ahead._

_As the blonde woman passed on the inside, closest to the wall, a hand reached out and grabbed her leg. With a scream she tried to pull away, but she soon stopped as the ragged figure came into the light._

_A woman with curly dark hair had blood and bruises covering her face. Her clothes were ripped, leaving the woman almost naked. There was more blood on the rest of her._

_The blonde woman shouted at her companion to call 911 as she bent down to help._

_The dark-haired woman opened dull green eyes, gazing at the other woman. She talked through bruised lips, telling them that she was a cop. She relayed to them everything about her assault: how she had fought them, biting one and scratching another, that at least three may have raped her; she didn't know how many exactly. She had lost consciousness until the first bullet had hit her. The green-eyed woman's voice started to fade as if what fight she had left was draining away. In a raspy voice she pleaded with the woman to promise that they would do a full kit on her. After extracting the promise, she sagged back into the tourist's arms._

_The visiting woman had thought that the bleeding woman had passed out, when she heard the curly-haired lady whisper in a pleading voice to deliver a message to a Mac Taylor of the NYPD Crime Lab._

_"Tell him he's not alone. Everyone at the lab is family, even Don. Tell... tell him to get Connor..."_

xxx

When Ms. Trenet was done, tears where once again flowing freely down her cheeks; her boyfriend put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Aiden swallowed a lump in her throat as she tried to force out a question. Instead of her own voice, she heard Detective Angell ask the couple if there was anything about the suspects that stood out.

"Two were lighter skinned, one was kind of sallow looking, and the fourth was very dark but I wouldn't go as far as to call him black. One of the lighter skinned was really thin, lanky like a teenager, the others, I'm not too sure." The blonde woman gave a half shrug.

"Thank you for the information; we have the address of your hotel and that of your home just in case this isn't resolved before the end of your stay in New York. Here's my card just in case you remember anything else."

Aiden walked back to the alley where Danny was processing. As soon as he caught a glimpse of her face he stopped, walking over to her. "What is it, Aiden?"

Aiden realized at that moment that her cheeks were wet and that was why Danny was looking at her with such a worried expression. She just shook her head, not wanting to go into it with him just yet. "What have you found so far?"

Danny for once didn't push, "With just at a quick glance I found: footprints, blood, a pool of a white sticky substance, and drag marks out to the street. That's just a cursory look around."

"Okay, Danny, call in whatever help you might need here. I'm heading off to the hospital with Detective Angell." She knew that she was taking control over the investigation but with Danny's recent drop from the promotion grid, she was in a way equal, if not a little higher in the ranking. The brown-eyed woman turned striding back to where the other woman was waiting.

Danny called after Aiden's retreating back, "Hey Aiden." The brunette investigator turned, looking back at him. "When you find out how Stella's doing... you know... call me."

Aiden gave him a strained smile and nodded before walking away.

xxx

The emergency doors to Roosevelt Hospital slid open and a nurse and orderlies were there to take in information as Stella Bonasera's life changed hands. Don followed, catching the first nurse that was going into the emergency room with Stella, "The police will need her clothes and anything else, a full kit..."

Don paced the waiting room, his hands in his pockets. He wanted to be in with Stella. The medics had gotten her stable; he knew that when they arrived at the hospital. He had known that Stella would want herself processed, so he made sure to tell the hospital staff to try not to ruin anything. That if they could, they needed the tatters of Stella's clothing and scrapings, photos, the works.

Mac marched through the sliding glass doors of Roosevelt hospital. People seemed to naturally move out of his way. Reaching the receptionist's desk, he held out his badge, "I'm here for Detective Stella Bonasera," He stated it such a way that the young woman behind the counter was looking up the information immediately.

"She was just checked in twenty-five minutes ago. I think she's still in the emergency room. If you could wait one moment, I'll call and see..."

Not waiting for anything else, the ex-marine strode away towards the emergency waiting room. When he got there he spotted Don Flack immediately; the tall New Yorker stood out from the rest of the people who were sitting patiently, waiting to hear about a loved one. The blue-eyed detective was pacing in such a manner that Mac thought fleetingly that he would wear a hole in the floor.

"How is she, Don?" Mac's face was set in an impassive expression, but his eyes gave him away. The emotion that showed there was anger and worry.

"I'm not sure. The paramedics had her stable when we got here." Don couldn't find it in him to tell Mac the extent of her injuries. He was miraculously saved from that when a doctor came out of the emergency room.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Mark Dawnsen. Which one of you is Detective Bonasera's relative?"

Mac stepped forward, "Mac Taylor; I'm not related, but I have her power of attorney."

xxx

Continued in Chapter Two: Decisions


	3. Decisions

Chapter Title: Decisions

Author: Merrianna

Story: Life Altering: 02 of ?

Series: _SpeedBurn_: 14

xxx

The emergency room was chaotic with nurses and doctor's going from one patient to another. For Stella Bonasera, the flurry of activity was a buzzing background noise in her semi-conscious state. She was vaguely aware of the pain to her body but it was distant. There were a few times that it came through vividly making it hard not to succumb and fade back into the darkness that seemed to beckon.

Though it was appealing to give in to her need to just let go and get away from everything that was happening, but somewhere in her pain filled existence she knew that there was something she needed to do. There were people that the green-eyed woman felt she had to communicate with. So instead of surrendering to the void, Stella stubbornly fought to regain full consciousness.

"Detective Taylor, I don't know what you've been told of Detective Bonasera injures," Dr. Dawnsen began.

"Detective Flack told me, she was shot but was stabilized when she got here." Mac's voice held no hint of the emotions that were raging in him.

The Doctor had a pained expression on his face that did nothing to alleviate Mac's ever-growing anxiety. "There's a little more to it than that, Detective Taylor. If you would follow me; I'll explain."

Mac gave Flack a brief glance indicating that the other detective could follow along. Both men strode just behind the medical physician until they reached an open doorway to another waiting room; this one was empty. It had only four chairs, two coffee tables and a desk with a phone. The doctor gestured for the men to sit.

Mac felt his insides freeze as he sat down uncomfortably with Flack beside him. Doctors usually wanted privacy when they were dispensing life or death decisions. He had just gotten up the courage to move on from his wife death. Would God be cruel enough to take someone else that he cared about?

Sitting opposite, Doctor Dawnsen assessed the men before him. They were seasoned cops but, still, what had happened to that poor woman was shocking. "Detective, you of course were correct that Miss Bonasera was shot: one bullet went completely through, it pierced into the right lung, exiting out the back; the other is lodged in her shoulder. Those are serious injuries, but when you add in the other factors it really is surprising that she is still alive."

"Other factors? What other factors?" Mac demanded.

"I can only hypothesis that prior to this trauma, Ms. Bonasera was severely beaten and raped." Even though he tried to school his features anger appeared in the tightening of the doctor's jaw. "She has yet to regain consciousness which is a cause for a degree of worry."

Mac sat stunned, his face whiting; he swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. Getting shot was one thing, they were cops it went with the job, but to be raped and beaten was what they fought against every day. He could see from the corner of his eye that the news hadn't been as surprising to his companion.

"Detective Taylor, you do have some decisions to make concerning Ms. Bonasera." The young doctor said in a gentle tone.

Still trying to comprehend everything Mac automatically nodded, his desire to know exactly what was going on with Stella outweighed his necessity to make sense of what happened.

"Unfortunately with the head injuries she sustained there is substantial swelling to the brain, the risk is that if we were to commence with the surgery... she might fall into a coma." Dr. Dawnsen could tell the man needed a moment so he paused long enough to let the first scenario sink in before going on. "The flip side is that if we wait for the swelling to go down, and she doesn't have the surgery, she very well might die."

Mac dropped his face into his hands, a myriad of thoughts going through his head. Both decisions were bad but the worst would be for her to die. Going into a coma was terrifying but there was always the hope that she could wake if given the right stimuli.

There really wasn't much a choice. Looking up, Mac's haggard face gave away the pain he felt over the situation. "Isn't there anyway that you can do both. Stella's a strong person. She…"

The doctor shook his head, "We really don't have much time to waste. You need to make a decision."

Mac got up pacing back and forth a few times. Through most of the conversation Don had remained quiet, but at that moment he decided that he needed to by the voice of reason that Stella usually was for Mac in these types of situations. He stood, approaching the former Marine laying a comforting hand on the other man's shoulder getting him at once to stop looking up. "Mac, I know this is hard but Stella is strong she'll come through no matter what. Just ask yourself what she'd want you to do." Don gave his friend's shoulder a squeeze before pulling away to let the man make one of the toughest decision he'd was ever going to make.

Mac looked from Don to the doctor for a moment and then swallowed once giving a nod of his head. "Do the surgery." The answer barely came out in a whisper.

Dr. Dawnsen stood, "I'll do everything I can."

The door to the waiting room flew open and a harried nurse came barging in, "Doctor, Ms. Bonasera." The older woman took a breath, "She's awake."

xxx

Continued in Chapter Three: Uncertain Times


	4. Uncertain Times

Chapter Title: Uncertain Times

Author: Merrianna

Story: Life Altering: 03 of ?

Series: _SpeedBurn_: 14

xxx

Arriving at the hospital Detective Aiden Burn and Jessica Angell made their way to the reception desk. Showing their NYPD credentials, Aiden questioned the nurse attending the front desk. "Where is Stella Bonasera? She should have been admitted into emergency for gunshot wound."

The blonde attendant searched through her computer muttering, "She seems to be a popular person."

"Just tell us where we will find Detective Bonasera?" Jessica growled annoyed with the woman behind the desk not liking her attitude.

The woman unimpressed by the other woman's sniping, said in a snarky voice, "she's still in the emergency area. She has yet to be moved to surgery. Just follow the red line." She pointedly, looked behind them to the next individual standing in line. The two detectives strode away heading in the direction that the rude nurse had indicated.

"So, Burn are you sure you'll be able to handle this?" Detective Angell asked in a neutral tone as if she were inquiring about whether the Yankees would beat the Red Sox.

The dark eyed woman glared over at her companion. Aiden's frown grew with annoyance of the question, no she wasn't sure she could handle it, but she wasn't going to admit that. Stella was a colleague and someone she greatly respected. Aiden continued to walk briskly down the hall without bothering to answer.

As they walked down the hall, a dark-skinned man almost crashed into them as he was in a deep discussion with a member of the staff. "Excuse me." Aiden's brusque apology was automatic.

Sheldon Hawkes, the former medical examiner, did a double take and quickly excused himself from his associate and chased after the two women. He wasn't surprised to see New York's finest at Roosevelt seeing that there was always some type of altercation that required them to be called but the expression on Aiden's face gave the man pause.

It was unusual to see the detective in such distress while on duty. It could only mean that something had happened to someone that she knew. He could only hope that it wasn't one of the investigators that he worked with normally.

Those hopes were dashed as Sheldon was about to gain their attention when a nurse came rushing down the corridor just ahead of them. She was soon followed by a physician along with Mac Taylor and Don Flack. His stomach lurched to see both men it had to be someone very close to cause the look of panic in their eyes.

He was right behind the two detectives as they hurried to follow after them. Sheldon caught up with Aiden and the other detective he didn't know, "Aiden. Who's been injured?"

"Hawkes." Aiden exclaimed surprised as he came up next to her.

"Aiden, who is it?" Sheldon repeated. He could see that the young woman had at one point been crying. He shook his head as Danny's name came to mind for the briefest of seconds, he shouldn't jump to conclusions without the facts.

The brunette woman's face went rigid, but the sadness leaked into her husky voice, "Stella." Was all she could managed to say.

Sheldon stopped short for a moment before resuming after the group. It was no wonder Mac's face was stricken.

As they reached the emergency doors just behind Mac's group another nurse halted the three before they could enter. "Excuse me only staff and family are allowed to pass."

Detective Angell spoke up, "This is an official police investigation involving the patient Stella Bonasera."

The nurse grimaced, "Let's see your badges."

Aiden and Jessica once again displayed their badges to the nurse.

"All right you two may go in. She's in cubicle four." She opened the door herself letting them in. Smiling sadly to Sheldon, "You'll have to stay out here."

Aiden gave her friend a sympathetic look before she followed the other detective inside.

Sheldon sighed and went to the emergency waiting room and sat uncomfortably worrying about what could be happening to Stella.

He could remember earlier that night bumping into Mac as they both were heading out the door. At the time it had amused him that the normally confident man was acting like a nervous school boy.

_"I see Stella got to you." The observant dark-skinned man joked._

_At the puzzled look on his friend's face Sheldon gestured to the other man's lapel where Mac's customary tie would be._

_Sheepishly Mac shifted on his feet running a hand over his hair. "Yeah, she said I should relax more."_

The sound of another ambulance coming in quickly brought Sheldon back to the present and the terrible realization that he could be losing two friends if the outcome wasn't one where Stella walked away whole and healthy.

xxx

Continued in Chapter Four: (when written)


End file.
